Meeting Oprah

Part I: The Opportunity

For fifteen years I was a teacher in West Vancouver.   One of my former colleagues at Collingwood School, Danielle, contacted me last fall about having some photos taken of her three young children.  A session was tentatively planned, but in the end the timing didn't work out and we decided to postpone the photo shoot and wait until the weather was warmer.

Skip ahead to January 10th, 2013 when I noticed Danielle's facebook post about her husband's company offering VIP tickets to Oprah.  I called Danielle's husband Brett, introduced myself as Danielle's 'photographer friend,' and said that I wanted to see Oprah!  We had a pleasant conversation, during which he explained that the tickets he had were in the 8th row on the floor, and they started at $450.  He also had VIP tickets that included the floor seats as well as meeting Oprah and having a photograph taken with her prior to the show.  The price of those tickets made me laugh out loud!!!  I kindly told Brett to have a great time meeting Oprah and to please wave to me in the nosebleed section, then we hung up.

Moments later, Brett called me back and asked if I would be willing to trade a ticket for a photography session with his family.  I jumped up and down, hooted and hollered and of course, said YES!!!  Brett gave me the option of trading for a floor seat only, or for the full Oprah experience.  I said, "Brett, I'll photograph your kids until their weddings if it means I get to meet Oprah!!!"  and the deal was sealed.  I was going to meet Oprah, and it was all because of my photography.

Part II: The Lead-Up

The two weeks that followed were very exciting for me.  My Oprah meeting was never far from my mind.

I won't go into all of the reasons why I so admire Oprah as a humanitarian; if you're reading this post, you probably share my admiration.  I will tell you that on a personal level, Oprah has greatly influenced my life.  I move through my days from a place of gratitude and I know that Oprah's lessons, as well as the teachings of her friends Maya, Eckhart and Deepak, have all played a part the way I live my life.

This opportunity was BIG for me; REALLY BIG!  I didn't know many details about the pre-show-cocktail-meeting with Oprah.  I knew that we were promised a photo with Oprah and I knew that we had to be at Rogers arena at 5:30 sharp.  That was the extent of my knowledge.  I had no idea how much time we would each have with Oprah, however, it's in my nature to set my sights high!

In preparation for our meeting I did three things:
(Please try to contain your laughter.)

1. I rehearsed a speech of about three minutes.  It had everything: a couple of laughs to put Oprah at ease, a few anecdotes about how she has impacted my life, and finally a few words about why she is a gift to humanity.

2. I decided that I would rather have a candid photo with Oprah than a posed one, so I anticipated saying something like, "Oprah, if you don't mind, I'd like to ask the photographer to take a candid photo of us."

3. I also decided that I would give Oprah a copy of a book I had created called, 'The Grateful Mama,' not because I believe it to be a bestseller, but because she had influenced the creation of it.  As a teacher, I am always delighted when former students tell me how I have influenced their lives, and I  thought that Oprah may feel the same way.

Next, I focused on my wardrobe.  What does one wear to meet Oprah?  And what outfit works in both a cocktail party situation as well as a gigantic stadium?  I didn't trust myself to make the fashion choice alone, so I enlisted the help of my sister Marnie and my sister-in-law Kristi.  They, along with my two daughters, were wonderful stylists.  I had friends loaning me outfits and gorgeous hand-made scarves, but in the end I wore a simple, flattering dress that happened to be Oprah's favourite colour.  (Thanks Livea at Cherry Wine!)

Part III: The Big Day

Thursday, January 24th arrived  and I boarded the 10:30 am ferry without complication.  I retrieved keys from my girlfriend Tracy, I grabbed a quick bite of lunch, and I headed to Tracy's apartment to relax for an hour before getting ready for Oprah.

I think I was more nervous to meet Oprah than I was on my wedding day.  Seriously.  I completely underestimated how nervous I would feel.  My hands were shaking as I dressed and put on my make-up.  I wished that Marnie and Kristi were with me to lend some support.

The universe gave me exactly what I needed.  I walked into the elevator in my fresh, new Oprah outfit and a very lovely elderly woman said to me, "My. You are a very beautiful young woman.  I can say that because I am an old lady."  I thanked her, told her that she was equally beautiful, and we walked out into the rain together.

I had initially thought I would leave West Vancouver at 3:30pm to avoid traffic and ensure that I would be at Rogers Arena at 5:30pm.  I didn't want to leave anything to chance.  The lovely Danielle, however, extended an invitation to ride with her and her group.  I accepted.  She was leaving at 4pm and thought that would give us plenty of time.

If I could, I would go back in time and change everything that took place between 4 and 6 pm.  I know that some people say, 'Oh, I don't have any regrets in life!'  Well, I do.  I have plenty of regrets, and not driving myself to the arena is one of them.

I sincerely hope that I don't offend Danielle or her friends, (because they are all lovely people,) when I say that it was the most stressful two hours I have experienced in recent memory; mostly because everything was out of my control.

 I had no control over the fact that Danielle's friends, with whom we were sharing a ride, would have three vomiting children to contend with, delaying our departure time by thirty minutes.  I had no control over the rush-hour traffic that backed half way up Taylor Way and kept us from getting on the Lion's Gate bridge until 4:40pm.  I had no control over our stopping at Vancouver Club to meet up with more VIP's so that we could board a bus that wouldn't leave for Rogers arena until 5:20pm.  And I had no control over the bus driver taking the wrong route to the stadium, turning an eight minute ride into a twenty minute ride.

When we finally walked into the VIP room at Rogers arena, I believe we were almost THIRTY MINUTES LATE!!!  TO MEET OPRAH!!!

By the grace of God, Oprah had not yet arrived.

(To BE Continued)